William and Mary will start Graham at QB vs. JMU

Dave FairbankDaily Press

Redshirt sophomore Michael Graham will start at quarterback for William and Mary Saturday against league rival James Madison, Tribe coaches determined on Thursday.

Graham began the season as the No. 3 quarterback behind Mike Paulus and Brent Caprio. But after unimpressive performances from the Tribe's top two quarterbacks in the first 2 1/2 games, head coach Jimmye Laycock inserted Graham in the second half of last Saturday's game against New Haven.

Graham completed 6 of 11 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown as the Tribe held off the Division II Chargers 13-10. The unsettled quarterback play prompted Laycock to give Graham more practice reps with the first unit this week to evaluate his suitability and comfort running the offense.

Graham is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound recruited walk-on from Charlottesville's Monticello High. He also saw mop-up duty in the season opener at Virginia, completing 3 of 5 passes for 62 yards and leading the Tribe to its only score in a 40-3 loss.

William and Mary presently is 10th in the CAA in pass offense at 133.7 yards per game and last in pass efficiency. The Tribe is 107th out of 121 FCS programs in passing and 115th in pass efficiency. W&M quarterbacks have completed just 42.1 percent of their passes.